


Lemon Cake and Bergamot Tea

by MissMorphine



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tea Parties, mild spoilers for Lysithea and Felix's c support, two disaster gays argue about who's responsible for their date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-10-01 21:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20410276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMorphine/pseuds/MissMorphine
Summary: “You think we’re on a date?” Felix blurted out. Sylvain paused in his cake eating.“Aren’t we?” Sylvain asked.aka Felix just wants to get rid of the cake Lysithea gave him and accidentally asks Sylvain out on a date in the process





	Lemon Cake and Bergamot Tea

Felix stared down at the cake that had been thrust into his hands. Lysithea had yelled some sort of nonsense about being treated like a child before nearly throwing the cake at him and running off. With how poorly Lysithea reacted, Felix was painfully reminded of the incident with Annette’s singing. He really had no desire to eat the cake, but it seemed wasteful to just toss it.

Felix sighed. Maybe he would go into town and give the cake to the first child he found. Lysithea would probably get annoyed that he gave it to some child, but Felix really didn’t want to hold onto this cake any longer than he had to. He had training to do, and this cake was going to be a hassle if he didn’t give it to someone.

A shock of red hair coming closer caught Felix’s eye. Sylvain was, shockingly, without a girl on his arm. Felix considered the cake in his hands and then considered Sylvain. He wouldn’t have to go into town if he gave the cake to Sylvain instead, and he could get back to training more quickly if he didn’t need to go into town.

As Felix set the plate of cake down at one of the tables in the tea garden, the professor gave Felix a wave. Felix wondered briefly who she had been having tea with. She gave Felix a knowing look before holding up a pot of tea and stating that it would go well with his cake. Before Felix could reject the tea, the professor had already set the pot down and walked away.

“Hey Felix, what’s the cake for?” asked Sylvain. He looked over the table and gave the shorter boy a sly grin. “Are you planning a date? Who’s the lucky girl?” Felix narrowed his eyes into a glare, but Sylvain looked unphased.

“The cake is for you, fool,” Felix muttered. Sylvain actually looked surprised at that. “You know I don’t like sweets.” He wanted to say that Lysithea had given him the cake, but given her distress about being caught eating cake earlier, Felix chose not to mention her.

A light blush dusted Sylvain’s cheeks, but it was gone within a blink of an eye. He pulled out one of the chairs and, when Felix didn’t move, motioned for him to sit down. Felix sat down warily, questioning if Sylvain had some sort of scheme up his sleeve; however, Sylvain said nothing as he sat down across from Felix and poured them both a cup of tea.

Felix lifted the teacup to his face and inhaled; it was bergamot tea. He wasn’t sure if the professor had known that she was giving him Sylvain’s favorite tea when she left the pot for them, but it seemed far too convenient to be a coincidence. Sylvain gave Felix a bright smile after his first sip.

“You got my favorite tea,” said Sylvain, his expression soft. “I didn’t think you paid attention to…well, really anything that doesn’t involve training.” Felix gave Sylvain a deadpan stare before sighing and shoving the plate of cake closer to him. He then took a sip of his tea and tried not to make a face. The professor had definitely added sugar to the tea.

“I’m not unaware of the world around me,” Felix grumbled defensively. He looked around for the first time at the gardens and paled as realization struck; everyone else in the gardens was on a date. He looked back over at Sylvain, who seemed to be too busy enjoying the cake to have noticed Felix’s distress.

Felix’s eyes followed the path of the fork from the cake to Sylvain’s lips, and he swallowed heavily as he watched Sylvain’s lips part. He hadn’t noticed that he was staring until Sylvain was holding the fork with a bit of cake on it in front of Felix’s face. Felix wrinkled his nose and pushed the fork away.

“You looked like you wanted to try it,” commented Sylvain. Felix blushed at being caught staring. To save face, he grabbed the fork from Sylvain and took a bite of the cake. The tartness of the lemon helped to balance the sweetness from the sugar, but it was still far too sweet for Felix’s liking.

“You can finish the rest,” Felix said. He took another sip of tea to try and wash away the sugary film that coated his mouth, but it still lingered. Lysithea was wrong; cake was definitely not as irresistibly delicious as she claimed it was.

“You never change,” laughed Sylvain. “Still can’t handle sweets.” Felix bristled, which only served to make Sylvain laugh harder.

“Not everyone enjoys sweets,” Felix replied hotly. “It’s not as if liking sweets would be a useful skill to have, unlike--” Sylvain cut him off, mentioning that sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat were far more useful on the battlefield. Felix was about to agree before realizing that Sylvain was teasing him for being so predictable.

“Don’t make fun of me,” growled Felix, his face red.

“I’m sorry…” Sylvain had finally stopped laughing, but the smile remained on his face. “You’re just so cute when you get annoyed like that.” Felix was grateful that he hadn’t been drinking tea when Sylvain said that, otherwise he would’ve choked on it. He stared at Sylvain with wide eyes before settling into a glare.

“I just said for you to stop making fun of me,” Felix muttered. He turned to leave, but Sylvain caught his wrist and keep him rooted in place. He sat back down, but he pulled his wrist out of Sylvain’s grasp and crossed his arms.

“For real, I’m sorry,” Sylvain apologized. “I’m ruining our date.” Felix’s heart stopped in his chest. _Date?_ He looked around again and realized that Sylvain wasn’t as oblivious to the atmosphere as Felix previously thought. Sylvain didn’t seem too phased by saying they were on a date; he’d already gone back to eating the cake as if he’d said nothing out of the ordinary.

“You think we’re on a date?” Felix blurted out. Sylvain paused in his cake eating.

“Aren’t we?” Sylvain asked. Felix just stared at him, utterly in disbelief. Sylvain looked around, as if processing everything, before turning back to Felix with an incredulous look. “You’re telling me that you got me a slice of cake and served my favorite tea in the most romantic spot in the monastery, and you didn’t plan this as a date?” Felix mirrored Sylvain’s incredulous expression.

“I never said it was a date!” Felix held himself back from yelling. He didn’t need the extra layer of embarrassment of people staring at them. “Who just assumes that getting tea and cake is a date? I just wanted to get rid of this cake!” Sylvain put his hand to his forehead and laughed before pointing at himself.

“Do you know how many girls I’ve taken on dates that were getting tea and cake?” asked Sylvain. “This is _the_ most common date idea, Felix!” Felix bristled at the image of Sylvain taking a girl on a date. He was about to snap at Sylvain when he realized that Sylvain thought this was a date between the two of them.

Sylvain agreed to a date with him.

Felix’s ears turned red as he let the revelation sink in. Sylvain hadn’t been concerned that everyone around them was on a date because he thought from the beginning that they were on a date. Sylvain, his best friend, -- though Felix tried not to admit that out loud too often -- agreed to go on a date with him.

“Why did you say yes if you thought this was a date?” Felix asked warily. This time, Sylvain was the one blushing.

“Well, why did you stay if you were only trying to get rid of the cake?” Sylvain asked in reply. Felix, truthfully, didn’t have an answer to that. He really had planned on training as soon as he gave the cake to Sylvain; he wasn’t sure how Sylvain had convinced him to stay without trying.

Scratch that. He knew exactly how Sylvain had convinced him. He just wasn’t willing to admit it out loud.

“Do you want this to be a date?” asked Sylvain, his tone softer than before. His expression had turned sheepish, and he was running a hand through his hair nervously. Felix looked at his teacup, staring intently at his own reflection and avoiding the question.

“I don’t want to be like one of the girls you date and drop,” Felix muttered. It was the closest to an answer that he was willing to give. Felix almost jumped back as Sylvain reached out and placed his hand on top of Felix’s. He looked up reluctantly from the amber liquid to meet Sylvain’s eyes.

“You’re not like them, and you know it.” Sylvain’s voice was firm. “You know how much you matter to me, Felix. You know, or at least you should know, that you are the only person that I truly trust, and I would never risk abandoning you.” Everything about Sylvain at that moment was so earnest; overwhelmed, Felix had to resist the urge to turn away.

“I do want this to be a date,” Felix breathed out. The words felt inadequate, compared to Sylvain’s speech, but it was still far more open and honest than Felix was used to being. “Now you tell me why you said yes if you thought this was a date.” Felix lifted his eyes to meet Sylvain’s; he held the other boy’s gaze, despite every nerve in his body screaming for him to look away.

“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Sylvain. Felix stared impatiently, waiting for Sylvain to continue. “I like you, Felix. I don’t need to pretend to be someone else when I’m with you. I don’t even want to pretend to be someone else when I’m with you. No one else can make me feel like that.”

Felix wasn’t sure how to respond. Once again, he felt like anything he could say would feel inadequate in comparison. Instead, he turned his hand from underneath Sylvain’s and laced their fingers together.

“You know that you won’t be able to flirt with girls anymore,” stated Felix, staring at Sylvain and waiting for him to disagree. “And my training will still come first.” He was deflecting -- and he knew it -- but it was easier than letting himself be vulnerable. Sylvain almost snorted.

“You say that like I liked any of them to begin with,” replied Sylvain. He gave Felix’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Stop trying to find excuses for me to say no.” Felix nodded, agreeing quietly, and his shoulders dropped as the tension released from his body.

Felix allowed Sylvain to continue holding his hand as they got up to leave. Sylvain pressed a quick kiss to Felix’s cheek, causing Felix to both blush and elbow Sylvain’s side -- protesting that there were people watching. He grabbed the teapot and shoved it against Sylvain’s chest, mumbling that they needed to return it to the professor.

“Next time,” said Sylvain, “I’ll bring the tea. The Eastern merchant always has Almyran pine needles in stock.” Felix looked up at Sylvain, pleased but not wholly surprised, that Sylvain knew his favorite tea. He tried not to let himself dwell too much on Sylvain saying that there would be another date, but a smile came to his face despite his best efforts to hold it back.

The following week, Lysithea would ask Felix how he liked the cake. He’d admit to her that he had one bite -- and hated it -- but Sylvain loved it. It wouldn’t take much for Lysithea to connect the dots between the cake and Felix’s new relationship. She’d comment that it was actually pretty clever of Felix to use the cake as a way to convince Sylvain to date him. She would decide that they were even now, since her love of cake set off the chain of events; however, she would still give Felix another cake -- a less sweet cake this time -- to try for their next date.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: this was actually the first idea I had for a Three Houses fic. As soon as I read the Lysithea-Felix c support, I decided that Felix would give the cake to Sylvain. Then I got to the Sylvain-Felix b support, and I knew that I definitely wanted to write this fic.
> 
> And then I ended up writing three others before finally getting around to this one.


End file.
